Fastener



K. A. SWANSTROM E FASTENER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Mm@ ,Amm

K- A- SWANSTRQM FASTENER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 26, 19%

- Patented Oct. 19, 1948 FASTENER Klas Arent Swanstrom, BuckinghamTownship, Bucks County, Pa.

Application July 26, 1944, Serial No. 548,659

My invention relates to fasteners and is primarily designed to provideimproved means for holding a stop nut against rotation and forpositioningit relative to a support for engagement by a -`bolt by whichthe nut may be drawn into direct and firm abutting engagement with thesuDDOi't.

Such means comprises aretainer having an apertured base in which a stopnut, preferably having a polygonal flange, is held non-rotatably but inwhich it is movable axially under control of positioning means.preferably comprising resilient walls bent up from the base andcontain-` ing recesses forming seats for the nut flange.

The fastener may be stamped from thin sheet material, which ispreferably embossed around the edge of the aperture in the retainer baseso as to provide bearing surfaces for the nut ange of substantiallygreater depth than the thickness of the sheet material so that slightaxial movement of the nut will not disengage its flange from thefastener base.

The side walls are preferably bulged in to form a frustum seat for thefbody of the nut, and such seat and nut body may be provided withinterlocking means, such as a groove and detents.

Bymy improvements I Iprovide a fastener having a retainer which may bereadily and inexpensively made and into which a stop nut may be easilysnapped and securely held without tools or expensive assemblyoperations. g

The characteristic features and advantages of my improvements willfurther appear from the following description and the accompanyingdrawings in illustration thereof.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a stamped blank ofsheet material from which the retainer element of my improved fastenermay be formed; Fig. 2 is a perspectiveview of the blank shown in Fig. lbent to form a retainer; Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the retainershown in Fig. 2: Fig'. 4 is a top plan View of the retainer shown inFig. 2; Fig. 5 is an exploded view showing, in side elevation, theretainer shown in Figs. l to 4 with a flanged stop nut positioned forinsertion in such retainer; Fig. 6 is a perspective view of theassembled retainer nut; Fig. 7 is a part sectional view showing myimproved fastener with its retainer riveted to a structural member andthe nut engaged by a bolt for securing a plate or the like to thestructural member; Fig. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of myimproved fastener with parts broken away; Fig. 9 is a transversesectional view taken approximately on the line Q of Fig. i1; Fig. 10 isa transverse sectional view taken approximately on the line I ,Ii-i ofFig. 1i with the nut in dotted lines; and Fig. 11 is a 4bottom View ofmy improved fastener with the. nut in assembled position in theretainer.

lAs illustrated in the drawings. my invention comprises a fastenerconsisting of a retainer and a nut 2. The retainer has a base 3containing a polygonal aperture 4, the ends of which are bounded anddefined by edges which diverge oppositely toward points and 6. Theseedges are embossed to form upwardly projecting concavoconvex bosses orpimples t' forming bearings of substantially greater depth than thethickness of the sheet material from which the retainer is formed.

Slide walls 'i and 8 are lbent transversely to the base 3 intosubstantially parallel relation to one another so as to form achannel-like structure.

The side walls 1 and 8 are provided; with concavo-convex bulges 9 and I0tapering toward the- Y top of the side walls l and 8 and forming afrustoconical seat for a nut. The bottoms of the side walls I and 8 arecut away, adjacent to the aperture 4, to form recesses Il and l2 in theside walls communicating with and complementary to the aperture 4. Thebase 3 may be provided with y' end lugs I3 and I4 projecting beyond theside walls I and 8 and preferably containing concavocgnvex protuberancesi 5 and I6 by which the base 3 -may be anchored to a suitable support byriveting or welding.

A fastener as above described may be conveniently formed by stamping andembossing a blank from sheet material. such as metal. fibre or plastic.as shown in Fig. 1; the blank being preferably cut and embossed in asingle blow, and the side walls 'l and 8 being thereafter benttransversely to the base 3 and to the lugs I3 and I4 along linessubstantially coincident 'with the side edges of the lugs I3 and il andintersecting the openings 4, Ii and l2 in the blank and preferably sothat the tops of the recesses Il and I2 in the bent walls lle slightlyabove the top surface of the base l.

The stop nut 2 has an axially threated body il (Fig. 8) having at oneend thereof a polygonal base or flange I0 (Figs. 5 and 6).- extendingradially from the periphery of the body. 'I'he latter has a section Ilconverging downwardly toward the top of the base Il to form a peripheralgroove 20, (Figs. 5, 9). The opposite end of the 'body i1 contains arecess 2i (Fig. 9) for an unthreaded locking collar 22 which is held inplace by the overturned staked lip 23 and extends inwardly slightlybeyond the root of the thread of the nut.

The body ofthe nut 2 is'of smaller diameter than the aperture 4 and maybe pushed therethrough into yielding engagement with the resilient walls'i and l of the fastener .until the projecting base Il engages the topsof the recesses II and i2 in the side walls. The shape of the base Il ismade to conform to the contourand size of the aperture 4 so as to make aclose slip fit therein. The edges of the base I8 are seated against theembossed edges surrounding the aperture 4 and is held against rotarymovement by such engagement and by the engagement of the sideprojections of the base with the vertical walls 24 of the recesses IIand I2.

The resiliency of the walls 1 and l and the frustoconical shape of theseat formed by the bulges I and III yieldingly resists axial movement ofthe nut and imparts an increasing resistance to the thrust imposed onthe: nut by screwing a bolt therein. The axial movement of the nut inone direction is fur-ther limited by the engagement of the flanged baseI8 with the tops of the recesses II and I2. The axial displacement ofthe nut may be further hindered' by embossing in the walls 1 and I thedetents 25 which engage in the groove 20.

When a nut has been inserted in the fastener so that its base I8 isseated in theaperture 4, the lugs Il and I4 are riveted or welded to anapertured support or structural member A so that the axis of the nutthread is substantially coincident with the axis of the aperture a inthe member A. An apertured plate or other member may be then securelyattached to the member A by inserting a threaded bolt C through theapertures b and d and screwing it into the nut 21.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A fastener comprising a retainer formed of sheet material and havinga base containing an aperture, a nut seated in and movable axially insaid aperture and making a close slip ilt with the wall thereof, andmeans axially positioning said nut with respect to said base.

2. A fastener comprising a retainer having a base containing anaperture, said base having an embossed edge defining said aperture, anut seated in and movable axially through said aperture, and resilientmeans axially positioning said nut with respect to said base.

3. A fastener comprising a retainer having an apertured base, resilientwalls bent transversely to said base, and a nut having a base of greaterwidth than the space between said walls and seated in and movablethrough the aperture in said retainer base, said nut being positionedrelatively to said base by said resilient walls which are flexed by saidnut in seating said nut base in said aperture.

4. A fastener comprising a retainer having an apertured base and sidewalls bent transversely to said base and containing aperturescomplementary to and communicating with the apertures of said base, anda nut seated in the apertures of said base and walls. said wallslimiting the axial movement of said nut.`

4 5. A fastener comprising a retainer having a base and side walls benttransversely to said base. said side walls having bulges forming afrusto conoidal seat and a nut in said seat, said bulges having an ofcurvature transverse to said base.

.6. A fastener element comprising a retainer having an apertured base,said base having an embossed edge defining said aperture, and side wallsbent transversely to said base and containing slots communicating withsaid base aperure.

'1. A fastener element comprising a retainer having a base and sidewalls transversely thereto, said side walls having complementaryconcavoconvex bulges forming a frusto conoidal seat.

8. A fastener element comprising a retainer having a base containing apolygonal aperture, said base having an embossed edge defining saidaperture, and side walls bent transversely to said base and containing arecess communicating with the aperture in said base, said side wallshaving concavo-convex bulges therein forming a frusto conoidal seat.

9. A fastener comprising a channel-like retainer having a base and sidewalls, said base and walls containing communicating comple-i attachinglugs the relative stressing of which does not iiex said side walls.

11. A nut anchor made of a single piece of resilient sheet materialcomprising a base having an opening for the passage of a nut, thematerial of the base being bowed upwardly without severence in regionson opposite sides of the nut opening and adjoining such opening toprovide end surfaces adapted to engage the nut to prevent the nutrotating relative to the base, a pair of opposed spring wings carried by-the base and adapted to yieldingly engage shoulders on the nut. theupwardly bowed portion and the wings alternatingv in position about theaxis of the nut.

. f KLAS ARENT SWANSTROM.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,046,914 Webb Dec. 10, 19121,272,919 Crawford July 16, 1918 2,095,271 Swanstrom Oct. 12, 19372,243,923 Swanstrom June 3, 1941 2,304,107 Leisure Dec. 8, 19422,339,130 Albin Jan. 11, 1944 2,391,046 Tinnerman Dec. 18, 19,45

